Magic will interview at least these 4 for their head-coaching job

The Orlando Magic plan to interview Michael Malone, Brian Shaw, Quin Snyder and Jacque Vaughn for their head-coaching vacancy, the Orlando Sentinel has learned from league sources.

Although it's unclear whether additional candidates are on the list or will be added to the list, Magic general manager Rob Hennigan likely will conduct first-round interviews with Malone, Shaw, Snyder and Vaughn over the next seven days.

Malone and Shaw have been rumored as potential candidates for the Magic ever since the team fired Stan Van Gundy on May 21.

Malone, 41, spent this past season the Golden State Warriors' lead assistant coach. He was the lead assistant coach for the New Orleans Hornets in 2010-11 and was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers for the five seasons before that. He's a son of former Magic assistant coach Brendan Malone.

Shaw, 46, just completed his first season as the Indiana Pacers' associate head coach, and before that, he was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers for seven seasons. Shaw played 14 seasons in the NBA, including three for the Magic in the mid-1990s.

In an NBA.com survey of league general managers at the beginning of the 2011-12 season, the GMs were asked to name the league's best assistant coach. Malone finished first, with 29 percent of the vote. Shaw placed second, with 21 percent of the vote.

Vaughn, 37, has been a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach for the past two seasons. He played 12 seasons in the NBA, including the 2002-03 season for the Magic.

Although WKMG has reported that San Antonio Spurs lead assistant coach Mike Budenholzer and Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks are the frontrunners to fill the Magic's vacancy, they are not expected to receive interviews, the Sentinel has learned.

Hennigan would like to have a coach in place by the end of July.

He will whittle the list after he completes his initial interviews, and then Magic CEO Alex Martins will meet with those candidates. Ultimately, finalists for the job will travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., to meet members of the DeVos family before a hire is made.

Hennigan mostly has kept mum about the qualities he's seeking in a coach, but he was asked recently if previous head-coaching experience will be a plus.

"It's important," Hennigan answered. "I think anytime you want to hire a coach certainly a guy who's been in that seat before is important. I don't think it's the most important thing. But I do think it's an important piece to the puzzle.

"I think also in conjunction with that is someone who's played the game in the NBA, who played the game at a high level."

Malone, Shaw, Snyder and Vaughn have not worked as NBA head coaches.

Martins has said team would emphasize NBA championship experience in their GM and coaching searches.

Hennigan worked in San Antonio's basketball operations department when the Spurs won the NBA title in 2007, and Vaughn played on that Spurs team.

Shaw won three NBA titles as a player and two as an assistant coach, all with the Lakers.